THE 2002 ELECTIONS: Illinois; Office Returns To Democrats

By JOHN W. FOUNTAIN

Published: November 6, 2002

CHICAGO, Nov. 5—
In a hotly contested race, Rod R. Blagojevich, a Democratic congressman, defeated Attorney General Jim Ryan for governor, marking the first time in three decades that a Democrat has won the state's highest office.

A three-term Congressman, Mr. Blagojevich (pronounced bluh-GOY-a-vich) represented the Fifth District on the city's Northwest Side that had long been held by former Representative Dan Rostenkowski, a Democrat. In 1999, Mr. Blagojevich, who is fluent in Serbian, accompanied the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Yugoslavia to win the release of three United States soldiers held captive there.

''My heart is full tonight,'' Mr. Blagojevich told supporters in Chicago in his victory speech. ''And in my heart I have nothing but a whole bunch of hunk-a, hunk-a burning love for each one of you,'' added Mr. Blagojevich, an Elvis Presley fan.

Later in the evening, Mr. Ryan conceded defeat, saying he had spoken with Mr. Blagojevich and had wished him success.

''Keep your chins up because the Republican Party will bounce back,'' Mr. Ryan told supporters.

The steel manufacturer's warehouse on Chicago's North Side was the scene for Mr. Blagojevich's election night headquarters. It was the site where his father, an immigrant from Serbia, worked for 20 years, said a campaign aide.

Said Helen Miller, 66, a supporter, ''We wanted a man that was going to be for the working families.'' Ms. Miller admitted that she had trouble pronouncing his name. ''We'll call him Rod,'' she said.

The two candidates spent their final weeks concentrating on downstate Illinois, where it was believed the race would be won or lost. On Sunday, Mr. Ryan campaigned with President Bush in Springfield, the capital, as a newspaper poll held renewed hope for the Republican in a race in which his opponent was for months considered to be the clear front-runner.

Most major polls showed Mr. Blagojevich to be leading going into the election, but his margin had narrowed in recent weeks. Mr. Blagojevich was leading in polls by as many as 19 points months ago and by 11 points only weeks ago.

But a St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll published on Sunday showed the candidates in a dead heat.

While the Chicago area, particularly Cook County, is considered to be Democratic country, Mr. Blagojevich, apparently unwilling to take anything for granted, spent Sunday campaigning in black neighborhoods on the city's South Side. On the final day of the campaign, both candidates conducted fly-arounds across the state.

The last Democrat to serve as governor of Illinois was Daniel Walker, elected in 1972 to a single term.

Democrats saw this race as their best opportunity in years to win the governor's seat, particularly in light of a federal inquiry into bribes paid for commercial driver's licenses. The bribes went to employees in the office of the secretary of state, who was then George Ryan. Mr. Ryan, now the Republican governor, announced in August 2001 that he would not seek another term.

Mr. Blagojevich accused his opponent, Mr. Ryan, of not doing enough to investigate the license-for-bribes scandal as the state's attorney general. The race was a complicated one for the Republican candidate. He sought to distance himself from Governor Ryan, who is not a relative, and had to battle the Republican Party's image problems resulting from the license scandal.

Mr. Ryan's campaign played up the fact that Mr. Blagojevich's father-in-law, Dick Mell, is a powerful Chicago alderman, evoking the image of Chicago machine politics. JOHN W. FOUNTAIN